Peter Bellarby renews call for the Scottish Government to provide funds for Bervie Braes

11.00.00am GMT Sat 6th Feb 2010

On Thursday (4th February) the level of alert at Bervie Braes was raised and residents were advised to be ready for evacuation at short notice. This followed monitoring that showed high ground water levels that were not going down. Cllr Peter Bellarby, Councillor for Stonehaven and Lower Deeside, has written on Saturday (February 6th) to Roseanna Cunningham, Minster for Environment, asking her for urgent talks between the Scottish Government and Aberdeenshire Council. Cllr Bellarby said "There is a serious risk of more landslips at Bervie Braes. We need funds from the Scottish Government to stabilise the Braes. The time for action is now. We want people who stay at the bottom of the Braes to sleep easily at night and not to be worrying about when the next landslip will occur.

"Following the landslip last November I wrote to Cabinet Secretary, John Swinney, asking him to respond to Aberdeenshire Council's call for government funding for a long term solution for Bervie Braes. I took the opportunity of Roseanna Cunningham's visit to Stonehaven last December to press the case again. The landslip in January and continued high levels of ground water serve to reinforce the urgency of the situation. We need action now."